The Autisms

Mary Coleman and Christopher Gillberg

Fully details the many advances that have occurred in the field within the past 10 years since the last edition was published

Combines the separate research done by autism specialists and neuroscientists and blends these two sources

Sorts out relevant findings and characterizes many remaining unsolved questions

Written by two leading autism experts

The Autisms

Fourth Edition

Mary Coleman and Christopher Gillberg

Description

The Autisms, written by Mary Coleman and Christopher Gillberg, demonstrates that autism, like mental retardation, is a clinical presentation of numerous different diseases, many with genomic underpinnings. In this ground-breaking work, the authors explain in great detail how to clinically diagnose infants, children, adolescents and adults with autistic behavioral features and their psychiatric and neurological work-ups.

This new edition contains several chapters on the associated problems of autism, such as intellectual disability, epilepsy, tics, eating disorders and sleep problems, as well as a chapter on epidemiology that documents the historical increase in autism diagnoses. Several chapters summarize the latest data on neuroanatomy, biochemistry and
neuropsychology, while three neurogenomics chapters show evidence suggesting that autism occurs due to genetic errors which cause interruption or misdirection of critical neurodevelopmental circuits in the fetal brain.

Completely up-to-date, The Autisms is relevant and necessary reading for researchers and clinicians in neuroscience, neurology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and psychology.

The Autisms

Fourth Edition

Mary Coleman and Christopher Gillberg

Table of Contents

Part One - Autism as a Spectrum1. Diagnosis of the autisms in infancy 2. The clinical course of autism in childhood and adolescence 3. Adults with autism 4. Asperger syndrome 5. Co-morbidities and symptom complexes 6. Epidemiology - is autism increasing? 7. Timing - When do diseases with autistic features begin? 8. Neuroanatomy - which parts of the brain are involved? 9. Neuropsychology/cognitive psychology in the autisms 10. Autism and epilepsy 11. Biochemistry, immunology, endocrinology

Part Three - Treatment and Support 16. Educational and behavioral interventions throughout the life span in autism 17. Prevention, reversal autism, and medical therapies 18. Conclusion

Appendix One - Recommended psychiatric/psychological work-up in autism. Appendix Two - Updated neurological work-up for children with autistic featuresGlossaryIndex

The Autisms

Fourth Edition

Mary Coleman and Christopher Gillberg

Author Information

Mary Coleman is a pediatric neurologist specializing in neurodevelopmental disorders. She has published over 100 papers and nine medical books, five of which are on autism. She was educated at the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University with neurology training at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and Children's Hospital in D.C.

Christopher Gillberg is Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He is one of the leading neuropsychiatrists in the world and has published over 500 papers and 25 books. He is an active researcher and clinician in the field of autism as well as in the fields of other childhood onset neurodevelopmental
disorders, including ADHD, tic disorders, learning disability, epilepsy and eating disorders.

The Autisms

Fourth Edition

Mary Coleman and Christopher Gillberg

Reviews and Awards

"The Autisms by Drs. Coleman and Gillberg is a veritable tour de force with encyclopedic coverage of what is known, suspected, and responsibly postulated about autism. The writing is clear, concise, and comprehensive. There are masterful discussions covering major topics of interest. The consistency offered by two major authors as opposed to many contributors of individual chapters is a breath of fresh air and this book is accessible and useful for a wide range of professionals as well as families dealing with this important group of disorders." -- Phillip L. Pearl, MD, Division Chief, Child Neurology, Children's National Medical Center, Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Music, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC

"The Autisms is indeed a fitting title for this volume in more ways than one. Coleman, a pioneer here, and Gillberg have provided a comprehensive and well-written update of their popular series of volumes on autism. The scope of topics covered is extremely broad. In short, this work is a "tour de force" and a must-read for clinicians and researchers. The authors are to be congratulated for their efforts." - Ira L. Cohen, PhD, Chairman, Department. of Psychology, Laboratory Head, Behavioral Assessment & Research, NYS Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY

"The fourth edition of this monumental book The Autisms is timely and most welcome. Since the 3rd edition, there has been an explosion of research and scientific writing which is comprehensively reviewed and integrated into a balanced, informative and readable text....It takes the reader on a pathway through clinical and experimental developmental neuroscience involving neurology, psychiatry, psychology, genetics, epidemiology and social science indicating the broad approach required to solve the problems of the autisms. I commend it as the definitive text." -- Prof Brian Neville, Emeritus Professor of Childhood Epilepsy, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom

"When a book, written by the same two authors focusing on a single condition - autism - reaches its 4th edition after being in print for 35 years, there is little need to ask whether this is a useful/successful book. I look forward to having this book on my shelf. I will consult it on issues rarely discussed in other texts having to do specifically with girls and adults; I may take a quick look when reading about some obscure syndrome or a new gene being trumpeted in the morning newspaper; mostly I am likely to recommend it to a new entrant into the field who wants to be brought up to date quickly and comprehensively." -- Isabelle Rapin, MD, Professor, Neurology and Pediatrics (Neurology), Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY

By Mary Coleman
The field of autism is riddled by several unsolved mysteries. One concerns the rate of children who suffer from autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). A study released last year by the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network used school behavioral assessments and clinical reports of children who were 8 years old in 2008 and applied a standard checklist of criteria for diagnosis.

By Joachim Cohen and Luc Deliens
The quality of dying, and maintaining quality of life for those who are dying and for those caring for them, is an inherent aspect of public health. In developed and developing societies everyone is affected by death and dying (either directly or indirectly, for instance in case of a dying relative) and it affects several aspects of their health and wellbeing. Adequate health promotion can improve the circumstances in which these people need to cope with death and dying and is thus susceptible to improve several aspects of health. Sadly, though the manner in which people die and the quality of dying has blatantly been neglected as a priority of public health, partly because death and dying, in all its aspects, have rather been regarded as antonymous to health and a failure of health
care.

By Mary Coleman
Autism was first described in 1943 and since then, the understanding of this disease entity by the scientific community has greatly changed. In 2012, autism is now considered a behaviorally defined neurodevelopmental disorder arising well before birth, characterized by a marked clinical and etiological heterogeneity. Recently there is a question whether there may be an epidemic of autism, as the rates of diagnosis have continued to rise to alarming levels.

By Mary Coleman
The symptoms of autism occur because of errors, mostly genetic, in final common pathways in the brain. These errors can either gradually become clinically apparent or they can precipitate a regression, often around 18 months of age, where the child loses previously acquired developmental skills.